BlinkM MaxM is a bigger, brighter relative of the original BlinkM. It's an intensely-bright smart LED that comes as a package of two components: a control module (MaxM Master) and a daughter board with three ultrabright LEDs (MaxM Blaster).

MaxM Master runs a unique firmware that creates virtually any RGB color, fades smoothly between two colors, and blinks in virtually any pattern (it can flash like a police light, for example, or flicker like a candle). Like the smaller BlinkM, it lets you do all of that without having to know any electronics engineering or programming.

The free, open-source BlinkM Sequencer software runs on most operating systems, and makes it easy to select any RGB color or pattern and instantly upload it to BlinkM MaxM (Java, C, and Processing libraries and programming examples are available).

The MaxM Master's powerful 3A MOSFET transistors can drive power-hungry ultrabright LEDs, or large numbers of LEDs simultaneously (such as found in LED strips). Its 5-24 volt power supply allows it to be run from a wide variety of common power sources, making it perfect for prototyping automotive applications and low-voltage track lighting systems.

The MaxM Blaster's trio of LEDs is 50 times brighter than a standard BlinkM and more than 1000 times brighter than a standard LED. They absolutely should not be looked at directly, under any circumstances!

Finally, it includes four 8-bit analog input lines, which means that its behavior can be changed without requiring an external controller. All existing BlinkM software should run on the MaxM without requiring any changes.

Note: The original BlinkM connector was designed to plug directly into an Arduino microcontroller board on Analog pins 2,3,4,5. The MaxM can be connected this way too, but the Blaster board draws too much power for it to be used in that fashion reliably.

MaxM is more directly designed to be used in a stand-alone manner. Its DC power input allows for any voltage between 5-12V DC. This voltage is used to drive large LED clusters. Or, like BlinkM, it can be powered from its 4-pin BlinkM-compatible connector with a source of 5V DC. In this mode, the Master part of MaxM can drive its Blaster LED board only.